Exclusive:Key SNP council tax reform group hasn't met for six months - before John Swinney became FM

A group set up to investigate overhauling council tax has not met since John Swinney became First Minister six months ago.

Mr Swinney has been criticised for a lack of urgency in reforming council tax - a promise made by the SNP back in 2007.

First Minister John Swinney (Picture: Andrew Milligan) | PA

In his first programme for government last month, the First Minister did not mention council tax, despite a controversial freeze of the charge by his predecessor last year..

It has now been revealed that the Scottish Government’s joint working group on sources of local government funding and council tax reform, has not met since Humza Yousaf was first minister.

Read more: Two thirds of Scottish councils mulling council tax rise to plug £400m budget gap

In its first six months, having been set up in 2022, it met three times.

Cosla resources spokesperson, Katie Hagmann, has confirmed to Holyrood’s Finance and Public Administration Committee that the group “has not met” since Mr Swinney returned to government, but added that “meetings are being arranged”.

She added that despite the working group being set up in 2022, “we are not at the point of making any announcements” around any proposals for council tax reform.

She added: “That work has slowed down due to a change of ministerial positions, and that is the reality that we are working with.”

The group was set up to “consider proposals for meaningful changes to be introduced in the short-term to council tax” as well as “approaches to longer term reform, including the development of effective deliberative engagement on sources of local government funding, which includes council tax”.

Scottish Greens finance spokesperson, Ross Greer, warned that “getting the Scottish Government to give any priority at all to local tax reform has always been hard going”.

He warned that policies the Greens and SNP brought forward including the tourist tax and doubling council tax on holiday homes are merely “sticking plasters on a fundamentally broken system”, adding that “council tax is deeply unfair and outdated”.

Scottish Greens MSP Ross Greer (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Mr Greer added: “It urgently needs to be replaced, but that can't happen if the working group set up to progress those discussions isn't even meeting.

"It's all deeply frustrating. The quality of our schools, care services, roads, libraries, bin collections and so many other services all depend on how we fund our councils.

"Devolution allows for very little tax and wider fiscal reform Scotland-wide, but we can make big changes to local government finances without the risk of a Westminster veto. In a time of financial crisis, we should seize that opportunity.”

Scottish Labour local government spokesperson, Mark Griffin, said: “After 17 years of broken promises, it is no surprise that the SNP is still dragging its heels on council tax reform.

“Lifeline local services are at breaking point after years of brutal cuts by the SNP, but the government doesn’t seem to care.”

Scottish Conservative MSP Liz Smith Photo by PA.

Scottish Conservative shadow finance secretary Liz Smith, said: “This is a shocking failure by the SNP government while councils struggle with the impact of their funding cuts.

“Reform is essential if we are to promote growth and protect services that communities rely on.

“SNP ministers living in the Holyrood bubble should stop pretending everything is okay, get this group up and running and stop treating councils and taxpayers with contempt.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The joint working group on council tax reform last met in April 2024 before such activity was temporarily stopped for the UK election and then to accommodate summer recess.

“It is scheduled to meet again on 24 October.

“The Scottish Government is committed to a fairer, more inclusive, and fiscally sustainable forms of local taxation, and continues to work in partnership with Cosla to explore changes to council tax.”